---
layout: docs
page_title: Use control groups for authorization
description: >-
    Use control group authorization to add authorization to existing
    authentication request.
---

# Use control groups for authorization

@include 'alerts/enterprise-and-hcp.mdx'

Vault Enterprise has support for Control Group Authorization. Control Groups
add additional authorization factors to be required before satisfying a request.

When a Control Group is required for a request, a limited duration response
wrapping token is returned to the user instead of the requested data. The
accessor of the response wrapping token can be passed to the authorizers
required by the control group policy. Once all authorizations are satisfied,
the wrapping token can be used to unwrap and process the original request.

## Control group factors

Control Groups can verify the following factors:

- `Identity Groups` - Require an authorizer to be in a specific set of identity
  groups.

### Controlled capabilities

Control group factors can be configured to trigger the control group workflow
on specific capabilities. This is done with the `controlled_capabilities` field.
Not specifying the `controlled_capabilities` field will necessitate the factor to be
checked for all operations to the specified policy path. The `controlled_capabilities`
field can differ per factor, so that different factors can be required for different
operations.

Finally, the capabilities in the `controlled_capabilities` stanza must be a subset of the
`capabilities` specified in the policy itself. For example, a policy giving only `read` access to
the path `secret/foo` cannot specify a control group factor with `list` as a controlled capability.

Please see the following section for examples using ACL policies.

## Control groups in ACL policies

Control Group requirements on paths are specified as `control_group` along
with other ACL parameters.

### Sample ACL policies

```
path "secret/foo" {
    capabilities = ["read"]
    control_group = {
        factor "ops_manager" {
            identity {
                group_names = ["managers"]
                approvals = 1
            }
        }
    }
}
```

The above policy grants `read` access to `secret/foo` only after one member of
the "managers" group authorizes the request.

```
path "secret/foo" {
    capabilities = ["create", "update"]
    control_group = {
        ttl = "4h"
        factor "tech leads" {
            identity {
                group_names = ["managers", "leads"]
                approvals = 2
            }
        }
        factor "super users" {
            identity {
                group_names = ["superusers"]
                approvals = 1
            }
        }
    }
}
```

The above policy grants `create` and `update` access to `secret/foo` only after
two (2) members of the "managers" or "leads" group and one member of the "superusers"
group authorizes the request. If an authorizer is a member of both the
"managers" and "superusers" group, one authorization for both factors will be
satisfied.

```
path "secret/foo" {
    capabilities = ["write","read"]
    control_group = {
        factor "admin" {
            controlled_capabilities = ["write"]
            identity {
                group_names = ["admin"]
                approvals = 1
            }
        }
    }
}
```

The above policy grants `read` access to `secret/foo` for anyone that has a vault token
with this policy. It grants `write` access to `secret/foo` only after one member from the
admin group authorizes the request.

```
path "kv/*" {
    capabilities = ["create", "update","delete","list","sudo"]
    control_group = {
        factor "admin" {
            controlled_capabilities = ["delete","list","sudo"]
            identity {
                group_names = ["admin"]
                approvals = 1
            }
        }
    }
}
path "kv/*" {
    capabilities = ["create"]
    control_group = {
        factor "superuser" {
            identity {
                group_names = ["superuser"]
                approvals = 2
            }
        }
    }
}

```

Because the second path stanza has a control group factor with no `controlled_capabilities` field,
any token with this policy will be required to get two (2) approvals from the "superuser" group before executing
any operation against `kv/*`. In addition, by virtue of the `controlled_capabilities` field in the first
path stanza, `delete`,`list`, and `sudo` operations will require an additional approval from the "admin" group.

```
path "kv/*" {
    capabilities = ["read", "list", "create"]
    control_group = {
        controlled_capabilities = ["read"]
        factor "admin" {
            identity {
                group_names = ["admin"]
                approvals = 1
            }
        }
        factor "superuser" {
            controlled_capabilities = ["create"]
            identity {
                group_names = ["superuser"]
                approvals = 1
            }
        }
    }
}
```

In this case, `read` will require one admin approval and `create` will require
one superuser approval and one admin approval. `List` will require no extra approvals
from any of the control group factors, and a token with this policy will not be required
to go through the control group workflow in order to execute a read operation against `kv/*`.

## Control groups in Sentinel

Control Groups are also supported in Sentinel policies using the `controlgroup`
import. See [Sentinel Documentation](/vault/docs/enterprise/sentinel) for more
details on available properties.

### Sample Sentinel policy

```
import "time"
import "controlgroup"

control_group = func() {
    numAuthzs = 0
    for controlgroup.authorizations as authz {
		if "managers" in authz.groups.by_name {
			if time.load(authz.time).unix > time.now.unix - 3600 {
				numAuthzs = numAuthzs + 1
			}
		}
    }
    if numAuthzs >= 2 {
        return true
    }
    return false
}

main = rule {
    control_group()
}
```

The above policy will reject the request unless two members of the "managers"
group have authorized the request. Additionally it verifies the authorizations
happened in the last hour.

## Tutorial

Refer to the [Control Groups](/vault/tutorials/enterprise/control-groups)
tutorial to learn how to implement dual controller authorization within your policies.

## API

Control Groups can be managed over the HTTP API. Please see
[Control Groups API](/vault/api-docs/system/control-group) for more details.
